Harry Potter and the Question of Loyalty
by Dark Forces Within
Summary: PG13 for possible future chapters. Harry returns to Hogwarts for his sixth year. Where is evil lurking now? Please R&R!
1. Mixed Emotions

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Mixed Emotions  
  
The sun was continuing its slow descent as night slowly began to creep upon the inhabitants of Privet Drive. Many were outside enjoying their first barbeque of the summer after what was the first nice day since mid June. Flowers opened up everywhere and grew quickly due to the constant rain they had received for the last month and the sun encouraged them along. All day Privet Drive was a bustling place with people doing some gardening, walking their dog, or just enjoying a chat with the neighbours. Even Vernon and Petunia Dursley of number four and their son Dudley had a good family day. They, who were titled the most uptight family of Privet Drive, went for a drive in Vernon's new car and were now enjoying barbecued steaks on the new grill. Everyone in the area was relaxing and enjoying the last bit of sunlight.  
  
Almost everyone, except one person.  
  
Shut up in his room in number four, Harry Potter was having the worst day of his life. The extremely odd thing about his reaction on this day was that is was his birthday. Then again, odd and Harry Potter went well together, for Harry Potter was a wizard.  
  
Now one of the odd things was that Harry normally dreaded coming home for the summer. His aunt and uncle and cousin treated him as if he were lower than an ant. He would often try to keep away to not get in any more trouble than necessary.  
  
This past year, however, Harry was never happier to come home to them. As he got of the train from his school, Hogwarts of Witchcraft and Wizardry, he had a good surprise. Some of the adults he knew quite well got together and they threatened the Dursleys. If he wasn't treated right, they would come and do something about it. Harry had a grin on that day thinking of what Alastor Moody, Arthur Weasley and Remus Lupin might do if they found out he was being treated badly. For the first time in his life, Harry saw his Uncle Vernon truly afraid. This must have been what caused the Dursleys to act so nice towards Harry. They let him eat nice meals, they no longer forced him to do all the chores, and even Dudley didn't want to constantly beat him up. He had been, by order of Moody, written at least once every three days to let him know everything was all right. Yes, for the first time in his life, Harry was having a good life with the Dursleys.  
  
There was one other reason.  
  
Last year while Harry was in is fifth year at Hogwarts, he went through an ordeal that would affect his life forever. He was tricked by the most evil wizard ever, Lord Voldemort. He was led to an area where he was nearly killed. Because of him, his godfather, Sirius Black came to his rescue. During the struggle, Sirius was killed.  
  
Harry felt he was the only one responsible. He didn't want to talk to any of his friends about it. They respected his privacy for a while and during the first month of his summer vacation, he worked hard to push it out of his mind.  
  
This all changed, however, when Harry received letters on his birthday.  
  
He broke out in a frustration so strong he kicked his wall, making a big hole where his foot made contact. As he sat back down on his bed, the letter from one of his best friends, Hermione Granger, fell out of his hands and onto the floor.  
  
IDear Harry  
  
I do hope your summer is going well. It is pretty quiet here. Mom and Dad have been busy, but they took me to Diagon Alley last week. I requested for my book list for school early and so I went down and now I am reading through our set list. I won't go into any details about the books, because I'm sure you're excited for the surprise of reading them yourself.  
  
I've enclosed your present in the parcel. I really hope you like it.  
  
Harry, I know that you feel Sirius' death is your entire fault. I just want to let you know that if you ever want to talk about it, I am willing to.  
  
Love Hermione/I  
  
Why couldn't she understand, the last thing Harry wanted to do was talk about it. For someone who could last year point out every time he was tactless, Hermione was being quite tactless herself. Harry wept in anger over this letter. When he calmed down, he opened up the parcel. It was a full colour book of pictures from the Quidditch World Cup that Harry went to see with her and his other best friend, Ron Weasley. He stared at the pictures of the match. The one thing Harry really missed about the wizarding world was Quidditch. He was going to return to being seeker for his house team next year.  
  
After he looked at the book, he opened up the next letter. He recognized immediately the writing of Ron.  
  
IHello Harry  
  
How's your summer going? Mine's been okay. Except, now that Percy's back, I have to put up with his constant fussing.  
  
Anyways, I hope you like the present. I wasn't sure what to get you, so Mom took me to Quality Quidditch Supplies and I found this.  
  
Oh, and... if you ever want to talk about Sirius, well, I know I'm not the greatest person with feelings and all that, but I'm here for ya mate.  
  
Ron/I  
  
Harry couldn't believe it. Even Ron, the person least likely to want to discuss this, mentioned to Harry about dealing with Sirius. Harry decided that he just wouldn't respond. He didn't want to discuss Sirius, so he wouldn't. Harry threw the letter in the garbage. He opened up the parcel and found a full broom accessory kit. It had everything from footrests, to a holder for a bottle of water. Harry marveled at it and dreamt of what it would be like to have all these things on his broom. He didn't waster anytime. He quickly reached for his Firebolt, the top of the line racing broom, and started adding items to it. The accessories were charmed to be weightless so they would not affect his performance.  
  
Harry poured over the kit for at least half an hour, when he finally remembered that there was one more letter for him. He didn't want to open it. He figured it would be another letter telling him to discuss Sirius. He considered just chucking it with the other letters. Curiosity overwhelmed him though, when he couldn't recognize the handwriting. He opened it and read.  
  
IHello Harry  
  
I know I never write to you, but I thought I'd wish you a happy birthday. I don't have a present, but I will when I see you next. I really hope you come to our house. I'm looking forward to the next year of school, aren't you?  
  
Well, I should probably get going, Mum is yelling at Fred and George again.  
  
Love  
  
From  
  
Love Ginny/I  
  
Harry read and reread the letter. No mention of Sirius. And then he stared at the name. Ginny. Harry didn't know much about Ginny. He knew she had a crush on him during his second year. He always thought she looked pretty. But he didn't understand why she was writing to him. He was also wondering what the present might be.  
  
Although he was intrigued by Ginny's letter, he still didn't want to write back to anyone. He threw the letters in the garbage, but he kept Ginny's on his bedside table. In a way he had never really felt before, Ginny's letter gave him great comfort. Harry went to bed with mixed emotions that night, varying from anger to pure joy. When the Dursleys finally came in, Harry was sound asleep.  
  
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	2. Invited yet Unexpected guests

The next few days that passed were fairly uneventful. The only exciting thing that happened brought Harry great pleasure to watch. Dudley was caught vandalizing the park. Harry didn't think it was possible for anyone to go as purple as Uncle Vernon did. Not only did he yell at Dudley for half an hour, but some of the neighbours claimed he made them deaf.  
  
Harry had a good laugh at this. He also found humour in Dudley's punishments. Dudley had to help clean up the park, and he lost dessert for a month. Harry wondered very hard about which one was worse for him: doing chores or not being able to eat his favourite foods.  
  
Apart from Dudley's antics being revealed, Harry had a quite boring few days. He had still not responded to any of the letters that he received on his birthday. He still had the feeling that the others were simply trying to invade his personal space. They didn't know what it was like to lose a loved one. They had no idea what he was going through. They pretended to understand but they didn't. He wished people would just leave him alone about those kinds of things.  
  
"Harry?" he heard a voice from downstairs.  
  
"Yes?" he replied to the voice, which he knew belonged to Aunt Petunia.  
  
"Breakfast is getting cold. Get down here and eat," came the reply.  
  
"Okay."  
  
Harry climbed out of bed groggily. He changed into the cleanest clothes he could find in his room and headed downstairs. When he got into the dining room, he saw his Uncle Vernon opening the post, and Aunt Petunia eating her meal, but he saw no sign of Dudley.  
  
"Where's Dudley?" he asked.  
  
"Not that it's really any of your business, boy," Uncle Vernon shot back, "but he is currently cleaning up the park."  
  
"Our little boy is such a nice helper. He's so willing to give back to the community," said Aunt Petunia in her little girly voice.  
  
Harry couldn't help but smirk at the thickness of his aunt and uncle. Even though yesterday they were infuriated with what Dudley had done, they were so proud of his helping out, even though he had no choice. Harry was sure that if Dudley had a choice, he would be at home watching his favourite program on the plasma screen television.  
  
Harry was about to respond to Aunt Petunia's comment, but was interrupted when the doorbell rang.  
  
"Harry, go get that door," barked Uncle Vernon.  
  
Harry rolled his eyes and got up from the table. He wondered who on earth could be calling this early. As he turned the corner to the front hall, he heard a voice behind him.  
  
"Probably some nutter wanting to collect for the Humane Society again."  
  
Harry smiled at the comment from his uncle. Oh, how he would love for his relatives to be bothered this early. It was always one of Harry's favourite things to watch them get mad at solicitors. He continued down the hallway when he heard a voice, definitely not from one of his relatives.  
  
"Potter. That you? Let us in, lad, we haven't got all day."  
  
"Moody?" Harry asked, stunned.  
  
"Well who'd you expect?" came the reply. "A bunch of Dementors? Now open the...oh, never mind. I'll do it myself." And with that the door unlocked and was opened and Harry stared at the faces he hadn't seen in a month.  
  
"Are you okay, Harry?" came the voice of Arthur Weasley.  
  
"Mr Weasley? What are you all doing here?"  
  
Harry looked around and couldn't believe what he saw. Mr Weasley and Mad- Eye Moody were standing in his doorway for no apparent reason. He turned around and saw Uncle Vernon, who seemed to be crossing back and forth from fury to terror. Aunt Petunia had a look of absolute disgust on her face and seemed outraged that someone would just barge in.  
  
"We're here to rescue you, of course," came the reply from Mr. Weasley. "You didn't reply to our letters for three days, and that was a sign that you were having problems."  
  
Harry was furious at himself. How could he forget that? He didn't want to go away. He didn't want to face the Weasleys and Hermione.  
  
"B-but Mr Weasley," Harry stammered, "I'm not having any problems. I'm quite fine here."  
  
"What?" proclaimed a shocked Mr Weasley. "But. . .you've been miserable with them before, and you didn't respond. What's going on?"  
  
"I'll tell you what's going on." Harry turned around to see Uncle Vernon with a smug look on his face. Harry turned back to Mr Weasley, who had a look of perplexity on his face, and Moody, who seemed indifferent.  
  
"Dursley," said Moody. "If you know what's going on, you'll have proved wrong what I thought about you. But I must warn you, I've never been proved wrong."  
  
Uncle Vernon looked slightly taken aback at this statement, but commenced his explanation with great confidence.  
  
"This is all a plot. You're trying to take the boy away from us. Well, normally we'd tell you go ahead, but not this time. The boy's been tolerable this summer, and we want him to stay. There's no way you're going to take him from us."  
  
"Tsk, tsk," replied Moody. "Once again, Dursley, I have not been proved wrong. You are incorrect with that little speech. This is merely a misunderstanding. We must apologize for showing up without an invitation."  
  
"However," chimed in Mr Weasley. "Since we are here, we might as well ask you Harry. Would you like to come to the Burrow? Molly would be very pleased, and Ron has been looking forward to you coming."  
  
"Well-"Harry started.  
  
"He will not be going, I tell you," interrupted Uncle Vernon. "He is under our care, and we will decide what's best for him."  
  
"No you will not," came a sharp reply from Moody. "Harry has the full right to choose whether or not he will go. So Harry, what shall it be?"  
  
Harry's mind was racing. He now had a chance to go back to the Burrow. If he didn't take this opportunity, he might not have another one all summer. He desperately wanted to see Ron and the rest of the Weasleys. And who was to say the Dursleys wouldn't start treating him badly if he were to stay?  
  
On the other hand, going to the Burrow would put Harry in the situation he feared. He would probably end up having to share his feelings about Sirius. He definitely wanted to avoid that if possible. And if he left, the Dursleys could go right back to hating his guts, which would make his next summer with them dreadful.  
  
He started to turn around to the Dursleys when something caught his eye. He snapped back around and he confirmed what he saw. There was someone standing behind Mr. Weasley, and whoever it was had flaming red hair and they had it pulled back in a ponytail. He stood there, puzzled, wondering who the person could possibly be.  
  
Mr Weasley must have noticed him looking, because he was the one who broke the silence. "Ginny, dear, you can come in." He stepped aside and allowed his daughter to join them.  
  
When Ginny came into full view, Harry was shocked. Ginny looked very different from how he could remember her from the end of last term. She was shockingly quite pretty. Her body was well tanned, probably from playing Quidditch with her brothers. She was wearing a pink T-shirt that said "Princess" on it, and a pair of pink shorts, which Harry noticed also said "Princess" on the back of them. Harry looked up to her face. Her eyes struck him immediately. They were a deep brown, much like the colour of milk chocolate. He was so transfixed on her eyes that he barely heard what Mr Weasley said.  
  
"Are you two going to say hi, or are you going to stand there and stare at each other all day?"  
  
Harry snapped his gaze down and felt his cheeks go red. When he looked up, he saw Ginny looking at him, blushing as furiously as he was.  
  
"Hello, Harry," she said in barely a whisper.  
  
"Hi Ginny," Harry replied. He wasn't quite sure why, but the presence of Ginny comforted him.  
  
"Yes," said Mr Weasley, in a tone that hinted towards the fact that he was awkward in this moment. "When I went home to tell Molly where Alastor and I were going, Ginny asked if she could come along. I didn't see any harm in it so I agreed for her to come."  
  
"Yes, yes," growled Moody. "Small talk is over. Now, Potter, what's it going to be?"  
  
Harry was still unsure. He glanced from the company at the door to the Dursleys and back. His eyes fell upon Ginny. When she saw that Harry was looking at her, she smiled and blushed. Harry smiled back and made up his mind right there.  
  
"I'll come," he said faintly. Then he repeated it louder so everyone could hear him clearly. "I'll come. I want to go." He turned back to see Uncle Vernon going as purple as he did a couple days ago with Dudley and Aunt Petunia looked like she was trying to hold him back. Harry guessed that she was making a desperate attempt to stop Vernon from doing anything rash. Uncle Vernon then suddenly calmed down.  
  
"Okay," he said. "You want to go? Then leave. GET OUT OF MY SIGHT! WE NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU IN THIS HOUSE AGAIN!" Then he fell silent. The quiet continued.  
  
"Okay," Mr Weasley said brightly, trying to lighten up the mood. "Harry, go get your things and we'll be off. And Ginny, dear, go help him please." And with that he tipped his hat to the Dursleys and walked out to the car sitting in the driveway.  
  
Harry started up the stairs and shortly heard Ginny's footsteps following him. When he reached the top of the stairs, he stopped to think. He almost thought about staying in Privet Drive. What on Earth was he thinking? Then he thought; he was going back to the Burrow. Who cared if the others approached him about Sirius? The good points definitely outweighed the bad point of those looming discussions. He would just deal with it when the time came.  
  
Harry came to his door and stopped once more. "Ginny," he said without turning around. "I want to thank you for coming. If you hadn't of come, I don't think I would be going back to your house." With that, Harry turned around and face the girl who had changed his mind. He smiled and moved towards her.  
  
"Harry," Ginny began, "you don't have to - "but she couldn't finish, for Harry had pulled her into a tight embrace. She drew in a sharp breath, but relaxed when the initial shock was gone and returned the gesture. Little did she know, that she had made the famous Harry Potter the happiest  
  
he had ever been in almost two years. 


End file.
